Why 14th Street is Washington's New Restaurant Hub

8/30/2013 12:17PM

Washington's 14th Street was once home to the rioting that followed the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and, later, a crime hotspot with next-to-no foot traffic. Now, it's the city's hottest new place to dine out. WSJ's David Wessel sampled the delights on offer.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... David Wessel for The Wall Street Journal thinning on fourteenth Street in downtown DC ... about a mile from the White House ... forty five years ago this neighborhood was bombed out ... and burned out ... following the assassination Martin Luther King ... twenty years ago these buildings were largely board adopted a band ... today it's an incredibly vibrant neighborhood a lot of condos going up ... and there's been an explosion of restaurants ... behind me here is Bryce one of the first open a Thai restaurant ... next to that give only a small plate Tuscan trust or react ... and behind that his pearl diver oyster bar ... a seafood place with a panel Louisiana gumbo ... across the street ... a huge Do French bistro with diplomat open by Philadelphia restaurateur ... and down a couple blocks ... there since the IPO ... at the small plates Spanish restaurant ... opened by a guy who used to be a tax lawyer ... open a restaurant in Washington called proof few years ago ... it has an extraordinary ... wine cellar ... hundreds of miles of wind ninety percent of them from Spain ... across the street from that ... perch and barley a noisy place ... the food's okay but the beer selection is unbelievable ... you can even get ... the air ... flights and you can get beer pairing with your dessert ... and then there's the to a new Belgian place ... that offers all sorts of waffles ... including waffles with muscles baked into them which I stride and don't recommend ... for more of these restaurants see my piece in the Wall Street Journal's weakens ... for The Wall Street Journal ... and David Wessel on fourteenth Street in Washington DC ...